A pattern recognition device is known that performs pattern recognition of time-series signals of speech, and converts the signals into a label string. Moreover, a pattern recognition device is also known in which the intermediate recognition result prior to the finalization of a label string is held in the form of a lattice. In such pattern recognition devices, a completed lattice or a label string obtained from a completed lattice is output as the eventual recognition result. The label string obtained from a lattice can be a single label string on the best path from among the lattice paths, or can be N number of label strings from the best path to the N-th path (where N is an integer equal to or greater than 2) from among the lattice paths.
However, in such pattern recognition devices, the recognition result is output on completion of a lattice. Hence, longer the signals that are input, longer becomes the delay time between the input of the signals and the output of the recognition result.